Opening Fort Ord's Intergarrison road runs into resistance

Debate over opening a section of a Fort Ord roadway at the request of a developer has become the latest skirmish in the battle over how to develop the former military base.

On Tuesday, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will consider a request from East Garrison developer Union Community Partners to open Intergarrison Road to through traffic. The roadway, closed since 2009, according to county staff, is considered a key link through Fort Ord between the planned community and the Monterey Peninsula.

Staff is recommending the road be opened to traffic after stop signs and parking restrictions are in place, including a three-way intersection at Intergarrison and Schoonover Road and parking restrictions on the north side of Intergarrison.

But the request has drawn opposition from dozens of people who argue high-speed commuter traffic would be dangerous to students, joggers, bicyclists, hikers and others who use the road and a popular trailhead in the area.

Supervisor Dave Potter blamed the opposition on "the Keep Fort Ord Wild folks," and suggested it was part of a larger effort to oppose the Eastside Parkway that would run through the area. Potter said an open Intergarrison Road was part of the East Garrison development deal between the county and UCP, and that the developer might have a good legal case if the county faltered on its commitment.

Supporters of opening the road to through traffic argue it will help ease traffic on other routes through Fort Ord, such as Imjin Road.

Supervisor Jane Parker said she supports opening Intergarrison Road eventually, but feels it is premature. Parker argued that other Fort Ord routes, such as 8th Street, are not yet open, which will force Intergarrison traffic through CSU Monterey Bay. She said crowds of people also rely on a dirt turnout at the Jerry Smith Trail along the roadway, and traffic would create a dangerous situation.

Finally, she pointed out that no one is living at East Garrison, and said even when residents move into the planned apartments and homes, it still won't add an overwhelming amount of new traffic to the area.

Parker said she would support opening Intergarrison once other Fort Ord routes are ready and the trailhead improvements are finished.

Potter and Parker split their Fort Ord subcommittee votes in May on whether to open the roadway, leaving the full board to decide the matter.

The issue has split area residents along similar lines as those in the ongoing debate over reuse of Fort Ord, which is defined by two competing ballot measures headed toward a November electoral showdown.

According to county staff, the East Garrison developers indicated they were getting ready to open the 66-unit Manzanita Place affordable housing apartment complex and are starting construction of the first market-rate homes, suggesting the opening of Intergarrison Road was linked to that progress. A staff report says the county has already activated the traffic signals at Intergarrison and Reservation Road, and that the opening of the roadway was consistent with the "long-term circulation plans" for Fort Ord, pointing to Eastside Parkway and 8th Street as examples.

The staff report included six options, from keeping Intergarrison closed to opening it with a range of parking provisions and restrictions.

According to the report, the supervisors closed Intergarrison four years ago to discourage illegal dumping between a steel gate and the East Garrison construction fencing, though the road hadn't been used regularly for years.

Staff said the environmental review for the East Garrison development plan anticipated the use of Intergarrison Road, and no further environmental review would be required to open it to traffic.

In its report, staff indicated the county delayed plans to open the roadway last summer to work out a deal with university officials aimed at offsetting the impact of traffic through the campus. University officials have since installed traffic calming measures, according to the report.

The staff report acknowledged that other roadways regarded by Fort Ord planners as crucial to circulation on the former base — Eastside Parkway and 8th Street — had been delayed or were still years away from construction.

The board was originally slated to consider opening the roadway last month but postponed the matter after UCP Vice President Jim Fletcher asked for the delay because he couldn't attend the hearing. Fletcher did not return a phone call from The Herald on Friday.